'We don't have any excuses for this loss' - East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan

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By Srinivasan Mohan

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21-Mar-2013 09:13:00

The Red and Gold coach was a disappointed man as he saw his team falter at the final hurdle in the IFA Shield when they lost to Prayag United....

East Bengal coach Trevor Morgan minced no words when he criticized his side’s performance in the final of the IFA Shield on Wednesday. The Red and Gold suffered a 1-0 defeat to Eelco Schattorie’s Prayag United with Ranti Martins scoring the lone goal.

“If somebody says the loss was due to fatigue then I would say no. We don’t have any excuse for this loss. The players are professionals. How can fatigue be a reason for a loss,” said the Englishman to The Telegraph.

Morgan said that the opposition took the one chance they had and that was the difference between the two sides. “They got just one chance throughout the match. And they converted it. We got some, but could not take those. This is football for you. The players are very disappointed. I can see in their faces. They wanted to retain the IFA Shield badly,” remarked the Red and Gold gaffer.

“We made sure we did not concede a goal, but at the same time we failed to do anything worthwhile which could have got us a goal,” he added.

The talking point of the match was the absence of East Bengal goal poacher Chidi Edeh who was brought on for the last 10 minutes of the game. The Nigerian pulled his hamstring during the semi-final win over Mohun Bagan and wasted a free-kick opportunity when he was on the pitch against Prayag.

“I was afraid that we may miss him for four-to-five matches if we had given him a start. But then there was always a plan to play him for 20 minutes,” revealed Morgan.

The coach praised Prayag United for winning the trophy. East Bengal had beaten their Kolkata rivals during the group stages of the IFA Shield. “Every game brings in different circumstances. A final is a final. It was their day. But I am proud of the way my team played,” Morgan signed off.

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